Join the BU Alumni Association for an interactive evening with distinguished NYC BU alumni who have experience across the innovation spectrum.
Featured speakers include:
- Marc Albanese (ENG'99, ENG '03), Co-founder of Smart Vision Labs, a startup building a better way to do vision exams that has raised $10million. He currently serves as Director of Healthcare and TMT Research at CB Insights.
- Marcela Sapone (UNI'08, Questrom'08), Founder and CEO, Hello Alfred, a NYC based disruptive commerce channel that has raised over $50mill and was named "The hottest new amenity in luxury housing" by Forbes.
- Jeremy Shure (LAW'03), Managing Director, Early Stage Practice, Silicon Valley Bank, a U.S.-based high-tech commercial bank that has helped fund more than 30,000 start-ups. Jeremy is also a Kauffman Fellow.
- Moderated by Gerry Fine, Executive Director of the Innovate@BU program, a campus wide initiative to give all Terriers opportunities to learn innovation and entrepreneurship skills and help them transform ideas to impact. He is also Professor of the Practice (ME,MSE) and Director, EPIC.
- Welcome remarks by Cynthia Cohen (MET'77), Founder and President of Impact 2040, a new breed of strategic consulting firm helping clients navigate the pathway from ideation to scaling for profitable growth. She is a Boston University Overseer.
These accomplished alumni will discuss their experiences and answer questions on what led to their successes and how they navigated the ups and downs of being a startup.
6:00 PM Doors open
6:30 PM Welcome and Introductions
7:45 PM Reception and Networking
Registration fee: $20
All sales are final, no refunds or exchanges.
The discussion will be followed by a networking reception with appetizers, wine, beer, and soft drinks.
About Our Featured Guests:
Marc Albanese (ENG'99, ENG'03)
Co-founder of Smart Vision Labs
Marc is the Director of Healthcare and TMT Research at CB Insights where he manages a team of analysts producing data-driven analysis and research reports. Previously Marc co-founded and was the COO of Smart Vision Labs - a digital health startup that transformed vision exams by combining iphone-based aberrometry with telemedicine. Before starting Smart Vision Labs, Marc was an equity research analyst at UBS and Evercore Partners and prior to that was an engineer. Marc, a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, and an M.B.A from NYU. Marc, with his background as an operator, analyst, and engineer is passionate about start-ups, mentoring, and building up the NYC tech ecosystem.
Marcela Sapone (UNI’08, Questrom'08)
Founder and CEO, Hello Alfred
Marcela Sapone is the co-founder and CEO of Hello Alfred, the tech-driven home management platform. Through Alfred she has worked to redefine urban living and become a staunch advocate for pro-human, pro-labor policies and was among the first founders in the sharing economy to write on the importance of meaningful work and a meaningful income for employees. As a thought leader she has worked with the Brookings Institute, the Secretary of Labor and the White House under the Obama Administration to make this a reality.
Marcela has been recognized for her work and named one of Goldman Sachs’ “most intriguing entrepreneurs” and a winner of TechCrunch Disrupt SF, she was also nominated for the Financial Times’ ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Award, as well as Fast Company’s Most Creative People list and was the face of Consumer Tech for Forbes 30 Under 30.
Marcela graduated from Boston University Professors’ Program with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business and holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Prior to founding Hello Alfred, she began her career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before working in private equity and also co-created WHITESPACE, a seed-stage venture fund.
Jeremy Shure (LAW'03)
Managing Director, Early Stage Practice, Silicon Valley Bank and a Kauffman Fellow
Jeremy Shure is a Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank, leads its East Coast Early Stage practice, and is based in New York City. Jeremy is also a Kauffman Fellow in Class 23.
Jeremy has a diverse background in startups and innovation, venture capital, and law, and has written on such topics for various publications, including Inc. and The Huffington Post. Prior to joining SVB, Jeremy's experience includes co-founding the Emerging Companies practice group of a national law firm, and directing the innovation practice of the world's largest privately held media agency.
Jeremy sits on the Advisory Board of the Techstars Foundation, the National Board of Directors of Active Minds, the Board for Defy Ventures (New York), and the SVB Foundation Board. Jeremy is also the President of the Class of 2000 at the University of Pennsylvania, and is past President of The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Young Leadership division.
Jeremy graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (with honors), Boston University School of Law, and did continuing education in finance at Columbia University.
Moderator:
Gerry Fine, Executive Director, Innovate@BU, Professor of the Practice (ME, MSE), Director, EPIC
Dr. Gerald J. Fine is professor of the practice, director of the Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC) and executive director of Innovate@BU. Prior to his appointment at Boston University, Fine was president and CEO of SCHOTT North America, Inc. from 2008 until 2011. Dr. Fine was responsible for the overall strategic direction of the 16 production facilities and 3,000 employees of SCHOTT NA. His portfolio of businesses included solar, electronic packaging, advanced optics, lighting and imaging, and pharmaceutical packaging. During his tenure, SCHOTT NA revenues increased more than 50%. In addition to his duties at SCHOTT NA, he also served on the board of directors of six private companies.
Dr. Fine started his career at Corning in 1985 as a research scientist in the research and development division and served as manager, consumer products development from 1990–1992. He held management positions for Corning Asahi Video Products and was named deputy general manager-advanced display products in 1995. He was named vice president and general manager–photonic technologies division in October 1997. In December 2000, Dr. Fine was named executive vice president–photonic technologies. This division manufactured and sold optical components to the telecommunications industry. He was also previously a professor in the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at Boston University from 2003 until 2007, specializing in product and business development.
Dr. Fine is also the chairman of the board of Emcore Corporation, a NASDAQ-traded optics company based in Alhambra, CA.
Dr. Fine holds a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology. He holds nine US patents and is the author of numerous articles in both technical and trade journals.
Welcome remarks by Cynthia Cohen
Cynthia Cohen, Founder and President of Impact 2040, a new breed of strategic consulting firm helping clients navigate the pathway from ideation to scaling for profitable growth. Her passion is working with startup and emerging growth business entrepreneurs who are innovating and disrupting their target market. Cynthia brings a depth of expertise in business strategy, marketing positioning, target marketing and operational planning to all her clients. She built a successful retail and consumer product consulting firm, Strategic Mindshare, before focusing on early stage companies. Cynthia advises several venture capital firms and regularly works with Golden Seeds, Springboard, and EY’s Winning women on judging and CEO training.
Cynthia is also an experienced public and private company board member having served on 11 public company boards of directors and is recognized as a board governance expert. She is currently a board member of several private companies and digital startups. Cynthia is on the Board of Overseers of Boston University and on the MET College Advisory Board. Currently she sponsors The Pathway process for Innovate@BU.
In 2014 Cynthia initiated Downtown Digital Salons where she hosts dinner salons in major startup communities to amuse, inform and exchange ideas among a curated group of digital experts and entrepreneurs. In 2017 Cynthia cofounded Act 4 Impact, a political activist community. Prior to Impact 2040 and Strategic Mindshare, she was a Partner in Management Consulting at Deloitte.
*Panelists subject to change.